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 234 BENGALI LITERATURE the Pindaris, and nothing was said by his Council. On his return, the Governor-General wrote to the Editor with his own hand, expressing his Gor Ouragement of entire approval of the paper and declaring that “the effect of such a paper must be extensively and importantly useful.” He even induced his Council to allow it to cireulate by post at one-fourth the then heavy rate! thus giving a fresh impetus to the native newspaper press. It became popular the idea of it should be dropped, but he was over-ruled by his two colleagues, Dr. Marshman and Dr, Ward. When the prospectus was brought up for final examination at the weekly meeting of the mis- sionaries the evening before the day of publication, he renewed his objection to the undertaking on the grounds he had stated. Dr. Marsh- man then offered to proceed to Calcutta the next morning and submit the first nnmber of the new Gazette, together with a rough translation of the articles, to Mr. Edmonstone, then Vice-President, and to the Chief Secretary (John Adam), and he promised that it should be discontinued if they raised any objection toit. To his great delight he found both of them favourable to the undertaking. At the same time he transmitted a copy of the paper to Lord Hastings, then inthe North Western Provinces, and was happy to receive a reply in his own hand highly commending the project of endeavouring to excite and gratify a spirit of enquiry in the native mind by means of a newspaper. And thus the journal was established. A copy of it was sent with a subscription-book to all the great baboos in Calcutta, and the first name entered on the list was that of Dwarkanath Tagore. On the retarn of Lord Hastings to the Presi- dency, he endeavoured to encourage the undertaking by allowing the journal to circulate through the country at one-fourth the usual charge of postage which at that time was extravagantly high” (Eetract of a Letter from J. C. Marshman to Dr. George Smith published in the latter’s Twelve Indian Statesmen, 1898, pp. 2380-33. The same account is to be found in J. C. Marshman, Life and Times of Carey, etc., vol. ii, p. 161 seqg.). Also.see Cal, Rev. 1907, vol. xxiv, p, 391-93. 1 For the postage-rates, sce Seton-Karr, op. cit., vol. iv. (1868), p. 51, etc. Government also encouraged the paper by subscribing to a hundred copies during 1820-1828,